Monday, November 14, 2011

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) was an old time favorite of mine when I was studying abroad. I used to drive an hour and half just to visit this restaurant and always ended up ordering the same dish over of Chicken-Tequila Fettuccine or their signature The Original BBQ Chicken. When I came back to Malaysia, I was so glad to know they have a CPK located at Farenheit88 Shopping Mall here!! J

When an invitation came to check out CPK’s new menu, I was looking forward to see what the new menu was all about. With a series of innovative hearth-baked pizzas, made-to-order pastas, creative salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts, California Pizza Kitchen is please to add 12 new creations to their current menu.

The décor is dressed up with their signature yellow and black theme across the whole restaurant. Light wooden tables adorned with black chairs contrasted each other against their stone wall. There are also booths for privacy and the kitchen has an open concept where one can see the kitchen staff at work making pizza at their open wood oven.

I love this Cholula Hot sauce! It’s not found here for sale so it looks like I am going to have to go to CPK each time I want some Cholula! J

We started off with some icy cold drinks and my favorite was their Raspberry Flavored Frozen Lemonade! The citrus sour was tinted with a light berry flavor and really refreshes up my palate. One of my friends raved about their Strawberry Colada with its creamy coconut flavor while another raved about her Cookie & Cream Milkshake.

The version of the Wild Mushroom Soup at CPK was superb as I like thick soup with a slight texture. Flavors were bursting with an earthy mushroom flavors while the cream added the lusciousness to the soup. This soup is available in two portions of bowl or cup but I recommend getting your own as I certainly did not want to share this with others… J

Our appetizer of White Corn Guacamole and Roasted Tomato Salsa with Chips is certainly deemed a favorite of mine and they do a really mean version here! The guacamole is made from fresh cubed avocado, sweet white corm, black bean, jicama, green onions, red bell pepper, cilantro and Serrano peppers which explains its fabulosity of taste and textures. The roasted tomato salsa has a good smoky aroma coupled with intense tomato flavors which really matches the white corn tortilla chips perfectly. Be warned… this is addictive!

My foodie friends seems to love the Spicy Chicken Tinga Quesadilla a lot as they raved about the crisp hearth-baked flour tortilla filled with a mixture of grilled lime chicken, cheese and other ingredients was just melt-in-the-mouth goodness!

I love CPK’s salads as they do such a great job in their salad menus. The salad portions here are fairly huge and filled to the brim with loads of fresh vegetables and luscious dressings. The latest addition is the Roasted Vegetable Salad filled with roasted artichoke hearts, asparagus, eggplant, bell peppers, corn, sun-dried tomatoes and dressed in a Dijon Balsamic vinaigrette. Another great concoction as the combination of textures and flavors are amazing from its hearty ingredients. This salad is also healthy as it is tossed in a light vinegar based dressing and one can add grilled chicken, shrimp or even salmon to make this a full meal on its own!

Quoting the Co-Founders on their pizzas, ‘We call it our canvas, and the art is in our toppings’, CPK certainly has a fabulously creative pizza menu ranging from west to east flavors. With already 19 flavors in their menu, CPK is proud to add on 4 new pizza flavors to their family.

Taking after CPK’s infamous The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, the newest addition of The Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza is hoped to become the next fame in line! Fresh sweet pineapple chunks, BBQ chicken, Monterey Jack and Mozzarella cheeses, BBQ sauce, sliced red onions and fresh cilantro is a very beautiful disc of sweet, sour and savory flavors. The pizza based is doughy and crisp while the fillings are generous to even out the carb. Yum… J

Four Seasons Pizza showcased imported Italian tomatoes, oven-roasted artichoke hearts, salami, fresh mushroom, strips of mild onions, Mozzarella, fresh Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, topped with fresh herbs on a thin crust. The saltiness of the salami balanced out the light flavors of the mild vegetables and the cheeses was just stringy and lip-smacking good!

Deemed a white pizza, the Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Pizza was inspired by CPK’s favorite Spinach Artichoke Dip. The pizza has a spinach artichoke sauce as it’s based and is topped with oven-roasted artichoke hearts, sautéed spinach, garlic, and three cheeses. I love this pizza as it tasted creamy and garlicky and the cheeses seem to shone here with gorgeous flavors while the thin crust was really well enjoyed. A truly exceptional creation and definitely worth a try, especially for those who wants a changed from the usual tomato based sauce!

We were overloaded with carbs but when the Spicy Seafood Pizza with thin crust arrived, I had to try this as it was loaded with lots of baby clams, shrimp, and calamari, all zest up with a spicy marinara sauce and Mozzarella cheese. Foodies should know I am a big fan of spicy food and this one was delicious. The spiciness really makes me crave for more as it really triggers the craving addiction I have… J

A huge portion of Chicken Milanese had me asking if this portion is meant for one person or more. Three huge pieces of thinly pounded chicken breast was lightly breaded with panko bread crumbs, pan fried and crested with fresh arugula salad with shaved Parmesan cheese. Squeezed the lemon over and you’ll get a very refreshing bright citrus tang of lemon with the herb arugula over the savory crispy and cheesy pieces of chicken cutlet. A huge portion for great sharing!

Olive Oil and Garlic Spaghetti with Chicken and Shrimp came in fairly good portions filled with lots of mushrooms, chicken and shrimp. The spaghetti was cooked aglio olio style with olive oil, garlic and red pepper. The flavors were a bit light in my opinion but that was easily remedied with dashes of parmesan cheese!

fresh tomato sauce had such a homemade essence and the generous chunks of seafood added a lovely flavor of the sea to the sauce.

We also sampled the Seafood Linguini with Light Cream Sauce which is not too bad but I prefer the tomato sauce somehow. No faults here but just more of a matter of preference.

Dessert came in the form of Warm Apple Pie Pizza. Ok… let me just describe this dessert in one word… Wow! The pizza dough had a marvelous cinnamon sugar apple slices that had rich buttery flavors while the scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream paired up the apples and bread beautifully. The warm apples were tender and sweet so the ice cold cream added a luscious warmest to the dessert. Make sure to save some room for this dessert!!

We ended the night with some naughty pictures of what great food does to foodies!

The team at CPK sure knows their pizza and pasta! I adored their new canvases of pizzas and dessert as flavors are just spot on. Do also make sure to try some of their signatures (or my favorites) like Santa Fe Chicken Pizza, Peking Duck Pizza, Kung Pao Spaghetti and Chicken-Tequila Fettuccine! Portions are fairly big hence the price is well justified. The dishes here takes classic and puts a spin of creativity on them. Consistency is great as I have dined here several times where flavors and portions are always consistent and spot on. CPK is a great place for gatherings over innovative pizzas, pastas and desserts!

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